Die Eisernen - the hipster club that tops the Bundesliga

First promoted to the 1.Bundesliga in 2019, Union Berlin tops-the-table

One of the few clubs from the old East German leagues to ever achieve promotion post-Unification, to the 1.Bundesliga, Union Berlin now sits atop the division, following a late winner from Jordan Pefok against Mainz on Saturday. Die Eisernen, or “the iron ones,” are proving their mettle this season.

Union Berlin are a well-supported club, associated with left-wing politics, hipster cultishness and anti-Stasi resistance in the former East Berlin. Twice denied a license to join the pro ranks in the 1990’s, the club is effectively the “St Pauli of Brandenburg,” having since the 1990’s engaged in many initiatives that have endeared the club to the cosmopolitan set in Berlin while maintaining its leftist political orientation (in fairness, most of German football feels hard-leftist today when compared to the sport in much of the rest of Europe).